White Labs WLP773 from the vault

[Drewed]

52CF06E4-C309-4512-9108-7DA378C9CAFE

• Drewed
• Mar 12, 2018

Got mine too! Woot!

Too bad it’s not cider season....

 

[bmd2k1]

Mine too!

 

[MarkKF]

It's here! Now I need to find juice....in CT/MA

 

[dmf38]

I got mine today too. I'm going to make a starter and then bank some vials in the freezer until next Fall.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Too bad it’s not cider season....

Well it is in the southern hemisphere....

It does seem a bit daft having this one as a Vault strain, particular as it's a blend that is harder to store. It makes much more sense to release it as a seasonal in time for the northern apple season. To be fair, it is on the list of seasonal releases for September/October (along with WLP515 Antwerp, a Chico variant which I'm playing with at the moment).

 

[mwilcox]

*facepalm* they shipped last week without a notification until today, too late for those of us who just went on vacation.
C'mon WL that's amateur hour.

 

[JDXX1971]

View attachment 561836Look what came today.

Mine too!

 

[Maylar]

Mine will stay in the fridge until November cider season. The "Best Before" date of July is stupid, but it should keep OK. Chris White says yeast loses 5% viability per year, and shouldn't be used if less than 90% so it aught to be OK in 8 months.

 

[Albionwood]

Mine arrived too. Now what do I do with it? Won't have juice to ferment until September. This is dumb.

 

[MarkKF]

It’s in my mini fridge with ten packs of 71b (on sale) and two packs of Brewers Best Cider House Select.

 

[MarkKF]

I just scored five gal. fresh pressed. Warming up in the kitchen along with my tube of yeast. Will pitch it tomorrow.

 

[Chalkyt]

As per another post of mine a couple of weeks ago, my local store "Brew your own at Home", (well, to us a two hour drive and 180 kilometers away in Canberra is local) offered me some WLP773 that they had in the fridge, "but was a bit out of date". It is Best before Jan 18 18, Lot Number TB1773.

The good bit is that it is cider time here in Oz, and at last apples are in plentiful supply. Also I had to go to Canberra for other reasons so I did get a vial of the "out of date" WLP773.

BUT, I am a bit like the dog that caught the bus... What do I do with it? Until now I have used dry yeast (EC1118, SO4, DV10) so what is the best way to use this slightly out of date WLP773. How do I make a starter etc? How long will it remain viable?

At present I have enough apples for a one gallon batch but can get more. The first batch will be windfalls or straight from the trees. It will be a mix of Cox's Orange Pippin, unknown apples (we think are some sort of Pippins) and Pink Ladies which I might have to buy at a couple of bucks per kilo but which are in abundance right now. The wild apple trees have been trashed by the wildlife this year because of the drought so there isn't much of them left around the district.

One of our major apple growing regions is an hour or so away on the other side of the mountains so if I don't have enough of my own (a bit of a problem with deer, parrots, cockatoos and not much rain this year) I can certainly get more apples.

All advice is welcome as I understand that WLP 733 is something special and I don't want to waste it.

 

[Maylar]

From White Labs' web site:

While a starter is not always necessary, White Labs recommends making a starter if the Original Gravity is over 1.050, if the yeast is past its "Best Before" date, if you are pitching lager yeast at temperatures below 18°C (65°F), or if a faster start is desired.

Starter should be about 1.040 to keep yeast in the growth phase.

 

[MarkKF]

Here’s my starter. Just 1/2 gal. of juice. Pitched the yeast last night and shake. Shake again this AM.

View attachment 564535

 

[bmd2k1]

I just scored five gal. fresh pressed. Warming up in the kitchen along with my tube of yeast. Will pitch it tomorrow.

Cool....keep us posted!

 

[MarkKF]

Well this yeast is different. 1 day in a jug with juice it was dropping lees. 1 day in a carboy with nutrients and it’s got a thick foamy head.

 

[MarkKF]

It’s alive!

 

[Maylar]

Well this yeast is different. 1 day in a jug with juice it was dropping lees. 1 day in a carboy with nutrients and it’s got a thick foamy head.

I'm really curious if it performs as advertised and leaves 20% residual sugar. No other yeast I know of will do that. I sent White Labs an email asking if there are any special requirements like temperature range that helps it quit before going dry, but got no reply.

 

[MarkKF]

It’s still rolling but no more foam or bubbles on the surface. Might grab a gravity later.

 

[MarkKF]

Another layer of clean bubbles on the surface today. Still going after one week at 60 deg. F.

S.G. is 1.016 today. Smell great!

 

[bmd2k1]

Another layer of clean bubbles on the surface today. Still going after one week at 60 deg. F.

S.G. is 1.016 today. Smell great!

How are the lees? Is it a good flocculation?

 

[MarkKF]

Two weeks. It’s been quiet for three days now. Nothing floating. Still looks juicy. S.G. is 1.006 so I racked into a clean, smaller carboy.

The taste has a very tart character to it.

 

[MarkKF]

It’s the one on the right....

 

[Maylar]

So, already lower than the 80% attenuation White Labs stated.

 

[MarkKF]

Yep, 58-60 deg. F.

 

[johnnyseko]

Mine are going!! I've been away from here for quite a while but still brewing! Made a starter and plan to age each gallon a bit longer than the next. I've finally experienced what 6 months aged can do. Amazing. So we'll see how this turns out at each stage.

 

[MarkKF]

So I racked mine like 10 days ago. It’s clearing but it’s still bubbling. Not sure if it’s still fermenting or just off gassing. S.G. has to be close to 1.000

 

[Maylar]

So I racked mine like 10 days ago. It’s clearing but it’s still bubbling. Not sure if it’s still fermenting or just off gassing. S.G. has to be close to 1.000

Wonder how White Labs could claim that it attenuates 80%. Seems to be BS for those who've used it so far. That sucks.

 

[MarkKF]

I think those claims are for wort, not apple juice. Although who would use cider yeast in wort?

 

[Chalkyt]

Just a "heads up" for anyone worrying about the Use by Date coming before you have any apples. In an earlier post I mentioned that I had found some of last year's WLP773 at a brew store in Canberra, dated Use by 18 Jan 2018.

I pitched half a vial into starter then into a gallon of fresh juice (SG 1.060) made from our apples on 24 April. The juice had been sitting with Pectinase and Campden for two days. By 26 April nothing much was happening except for a bit of thin brown foam, so on advice from the forum I pitched the rest of the vial.

Today, 28 April there is quite a thick brown/white foam and the SG is 1.050, so clearly even though it is three months past the Use by Date, something is happening.

There is no fizz sound that I am used to with SO4, which really gets into action quite quickly. Nevertheless it seems that the WLP773 is quite happy doing it's stuff even if it is a bit old. Look forward to September, people.

 

[Maylar]

I think those claims are for wort, not apple juice. Although who would use cider yeast in wort?

Nope, cider -

EXAMPLE: In 12 Plato apple juice, this yeast will have 80% attenuation.

 

[johnnyseko]

Day 20. SG 0.998. Tasted ok - enough to want more but I have to resist the urge. Planning to rack in another week or so - still bubbling....temps @68F

 

[MarkKF]

Guess we gotta starve it or keep it cold if you don’t want it dry.

 

[johnnyseko]

Yeah I got lazy and didn't cycle ice in my tote fermenter.... I was getting @60F with the ice. Not sure it was worth the hassle when I was doing it for the 8 degree reduction in temp.

 

[johnnyseko]

Racked my 5 single gallons of 773 yesterday (5/7). SG .997

2 gallons went to age for some months
1 gallon got 14g of Centennial Hops and will chill for 7 days before bottling
The rest was bottled, some tasted...

Retained just enough apple flavor for me, slightly sweet and tart. A buttery mouthfeel that I haven't experienced before. Although warm and not carbed it will be interesting to see what final will be chilled. Definitely one of the best I've tasted straight out of the fermenter. I did run into an issue I haven't had with this or any other juice before. You'll see in the picture how nice and clear the cider got (my hand behind the carboy). On the lower 1/4 is a not so nice pectin cloud. I'm open to suggestions here. I have pectic enzyme, have never used it (obviously lol). Wasn't sure if it's worth adding now to my 3 gallons or if I could do something else. Or just drink it.

 

[Maylar]

Time will clear that. Dunno if pectic enzyme would be helpful at this point or not - that's a big cloud of schmutz there.

 

[johnnyseko]

Update....so the cloud above never really settled. After a few months I got impatient and had to rack off the top of the cloud, unfortunately losing quite a bit of cider in the process. Bottle carbed and waited weeks for it to carb up.

The hopped 773 cider was bottled almost straight from primary after 4 days on hops. After 4 weeks in bottles had perfect carb. Delicious.

The 'aged' 773 gallons (3 months) were bottle carbed and allowed to sit for 3-5 weeks (with me taste testing a few every so often). None of them had carbed up besides the last 1 I tried at 5 weeks in the 12oz. Another at the same time had no carb at all. I'm wondering if the yeast was pretty much done after the longer aging. Next time I'll add a tiny bit of yeast at bottling.

I don't want to give 773 all the credit but this was the best cider I've made so far. Only other addition was 4g malic acid per gallon. This cider was nice and clear, the yeast formed clumps in the bottles I haven't seen before and even after being disturbed would sink right back down, keeping the cider clear. I got the 'thumbs up' from the woman of the house, which was a first! I will be making more of this soon. So glad I have another vial!

 

[bmd2k1]

Anyone else fire up their 773 yet? With cider mills starting to crank out fresh juice here in MI...looking to toss mine into action sometime in Sept.

 

[Chalkyt]

Give me a couple of weeks for an answer. Mine bottled at SG 1.002 (it took over three months to get down to this) plus FAJC to bring it up to 1.005. It tasted pretty good at bottling on 7 August before the FAJC, but I want to give it a few more weeks for carbonation.

 

[bmd2k1]

How's 773 cold crash??